Hello team V&D! Hope this notes finds everyone well, and a chilly hello from down in Queenstown!

I wanted to touch base and say that I'm stoked to hear that a new album is soon on the way and see that you guys are on the way down in Early May, looking forward to a good night on the town already. I've been meaning to pass this story on to you guys for ages and upon hearing the new track from the forthcoming disc I thought what better time then now.

A few months ago I was in Africa, Tanzania to be exact. Amazing, AMAZING place. It's a must go destination. What really struck me about it was the interactions that I had with the local people. This is very much in the heart of the third world – modern conveniences and technology are ideas torn from science fiction here. I was there to travel around and experience the place and visit my friend Sarah who works as a volunteer at the local hospital in the town of Arusha. One night my wife and I were hanging out at Sarah's house having a most unusual dinner – there was an extra seat at the table.

 A young Massai boy from the hospital had walked for days to get to town to get an operation to fix a dodgy knee. He was staying with Sarah for the night as he was so terrified of the town, they thought he'd make a run for it in the night and walk back home (making for a 2 week round trip on foot, without the treatment he needed) This kid of about 14 had never been to a town, never seen a white person before, never slept in a house before, driven in a car, seen TV, a movie, a photograph or heard music that wasn't performed life in front of him. As we sat we tried our best to communicate with the youngster, showing him photos of our home, photos of him taken on our digital camera and we played him music over the small stereo. For the most part this was all too foreign for the young lad – he looked shell shocked and we thought it best to leave him to his own devices and we ate dinner with him at the table with us.

The music was playing in the background as we ate, a mix of all sorts, floating through our conversations. The kid was oblivious to the music, not really paying attention, until one song came on. You could see his ears perk up with the wha-into of "I See a Sign" it was a sound he'd not fathomed before. Intent and concentrating he studied the sounds trying to decipher them. And then at the bridge when the drums kick in and they start pounding out a rhythm he was transfixed. The beat transported this little Massai warrior clothed in traditional clothing, head shaved, spear left at the front door - to the Aoteroa float at Carnival in Rio. Without even realizing it himself, he started bobbing his head in syncro to the beat and a dDub gained a fan - thousands of miles from NZ and a million miles from home…

All the best guys and see you in May

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When other bands are wrapping up warm, staying home by the fire and drinking their milos, dDub are getting out there, getting hard and generally getting fricken freezing – braving the Queenstown Snizzell (snow), the Christchurch Frizzel (frost) and the Wellington Drizzle (drizzel) – AKA the New Zealand Winter Tour circuit.

It means 6 band members, 1 soundman and 1 intrepid tour manager cohabiting, driving and snowboarding together for 2 weeks starting with ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />deep South Island.

Flying into Queenstown is hairy at the best of times. Add to that, you've just heard that all other flights have been cancelled and yours is the last one they'll get in for the day before it gets too icy and dark. Plus Pluto and Shihad were Helicoptered in for their gig yesterday because of treacherous conditions.

Staying chilled is not easy when you look out the window to see the side of the hill rearing up mighty close (pilot just saying they're trying a 'new' approach). Welcome to Queenstown for the WinterFest after a huge snowstorm and a town full of stranded partygoers!! Wahooo.

dDub are booked to play the main stage at the Mardi Gra and after a horrendous 3 days of howling gales and postponed gigs, the weather decides to settle itself down and the evening emerges cold, crisp and clear as a bell. 10,000 people wrapped up warmly drinking mulled wine and local ale and it's all on.  dDub do their cranking set and the ski bunnies all get warm bouncing around.  Heaters on stage ensured we didn't have a repeat of the Ohakune Festival experience (Trumpet players who's lips get stuck to icy cold mouthpieces get very ugly).

One of the benefits of the Winterfest is being given ski passes, your average musician having been left far behind in the winter sports game, due to cost.  So it's with jubilation that the dDub lads hit the slopes the next day– Pristine days, new snow, swishing down the slopes on their boards – touring never looked so good. Well we won't mention the first 2 1/2 days on your arse, bruises on bruises - crying in the night. The PAIN.

Back to earth and rental cars and long haul to Christchurch, hotel replaced with backpackers, flexibility being an essential trait for the touring band.

We also left behind the crisp weather. We were greeted with a torrential downpour and we knew this would really test the dDub fans, generally a hardy lot. The first really crap winters' night can send even the staunchest dubster onto the couch for a quiet one.

Hey but don't you love them! They came, taxi loads, promptly getting soaked in the two steps it takes to get to the door, but they kept coming. Maybe it's the cold, or camaraderie of venturing out on a god awful night, but winter tour crowds always seem friendlier. They're in it together, they're darned well determined to have a damn fine time.

            The following week onto National Park, another Ski resort (in the North Island). We're stoked to discover every single ticket has been sold and there is a waiting list for the next show. (Impressive considering we are talking 270 tickets from a population 300). It's a loud, happy, fairly plastered crowd, keeping the duty manager on his toes as they start climbing in the windows! Really.

Then onto Napier to discover they are still finishing off the bar. Some 40 tradesmen swarming around, soundcheck 3 hours late, still pull off a good show. Then back in the rentals to Wellington.

Wellington is renowned for its staunch loyalty to their local roots/dub acts, so can be a fairly harsh critic to outsiders (especially arch rival Auckland).  Well it seems the dDub vibe has finally infiltrated the hearts of the capital city, record presales greeted us and a big queue up Cuba St. Dogged perseverance (and a great show) seem to have paid off.

            Then it's home to sunny Auckland, chucking away the jumpers, long johns and beanies and launching into the suntan lotion. Next stop - Melbourne.

Recent Review from Beat Magazine (USA)    http://www.getthebeat.com

Volume 25 No. 5  2006

"Sophisticated arrangements, sweet tones, subtle poetic lyrics and old-fashioned good playing make dDub's Awake At Dawn (Vunderchick) a pleasant addition to the growing category of New Zealand reggae.

Swift tempo changes, a mariachi-influenced horn section and squeaky-clean riddims - this is really a pop album played with a reggae feel like a rootsier version of Men Without Hats. "Yesternight", "Magic," "Feet Firm" and the radio-friendly "Give Up Your Love" show this band, which thankfully makes no attempt at ersatz patois, is a finely tuned vehicle capable of running full throttle straight through your town.

Fans of American reggae bands Ink Inka and John Brown's Body - and there are plenty of them - should check out this tight New Zealand sextet. My favorite cut, "I See A Sign", opens the disc.

Did I mention harmonies, nice drum and bass interplay, and the horn
section? "

(Contact   info@ddub.co.nz).

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Just back from their 3rd Australian tour, dDub were overwhelmed by the response form the Australian public and press. The tours covered Sydney, Byron Bay, and Brisbane culminating in a sell-out show in Melbourne.

 

 "dDub's accomplished lead singer/guitarist Derek Browne steered a massive groove and ska-hot brass to take the party through an explosive journey of high hands roots rock and reggae."

- Inpress (Melbourne)–

 

dDub have recently released their 2^nd full length album 'Medicine Man' to another round of 4 and 5 star reviews Nationwide. Medicine Man has just spent 3 weeks on the National Top 40 album charts and debuted at number 2 on the Independent Charts. The single 'Quicksand' from the album is presently number 2 on the KiwiFM top 10.

 

" Their Live show is phenomenal, Their vibe uplifting and the sound is infectious... Winter? dDub are the best warming medicine, man. Get yourself a dose" - The Press 04 08. - Vicki Anderson. dDub Medicine Man - 5 Stars

 

 

"WOMAD 2007 organisers are thrilled with the success of the weekend event. The festival attracted a crowd of about 45,000, the biggest ever. New Zealand band dDub drew a large crowd to the Gables stage. dDub showed why they had become favourites at outdoor festivals, connecting with the huge crowd."  - 

                                                                                    - Taranaki Daily News -

 

"Sophisticated arrangements, sweet tones, subtle poetic lyrics and good playing make dDub's Awake At Dawn (Vunderchick) a pleasant addition to the growing category of New Zealand reggae.

Swift tempo changes, a mariachi-influenced horn section and squeaky-clean riddims -… show this band is a finely tuned vehicle capable of running full throttle straight through your town"                                    

The Beat Magazine – USA -

 

With several nationwide tours under their belt, dDub's live performance repertoire is impressive. dDub has performed to thousands of New Zealanders, including an 8000 strong crowd at Queenstown's Winter Festival where they were brought back on stage for three pumping encores!

Other live shows include: Womad (2007) two performances. BFM Summer Series (2007) Rhythm & Vines Gisborne (2008/2005), Soundsplash Festival (2006/ 2003), Wellington's Cuba St Carnival (2002 / 2003), Splore (2004/2006), Grey Lynn festival (2003/2004/2005/2006), AK05 (2005) The Auckland City Performing Arts Festival (2005), Nelson Arts festival (2006), Coromandel Pohutukawa festival, (2006) Southern Amp (2207) and many others.

dDub performed extensively over 2008 and 2007 summer season, sharing stages with other high profile acts including Sneaky Sound System, Salmonella Dub, The Black Seeds, Katchafire and Kora.

 

"With eagerly anticipated new albums being released by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Black Seeds, it was always going to be difficult picking my album of the year. But in the depths of winter I think I've found it in the sublime summer sounds that make up the long-awaited debut album from dDub"

Craccum magazine – August 2006 - * * * * * 5 Stars

I SEE A SIGN

Bono said it best so many years ago when he said the immortal words, all you need is a red guitar, three chords and the truth.

There is something about music that can mean so much more then the simple spoken word. And to hear that music performed live takes that communication to a whole new level.

Perhaps my mind has circled around this idea lately as I have seen dDub twice in so many Saturday nights perform in Queenstown. When a band is on, when the changes are tight and they speak to you in a way where the line between the band and the audience becomes a blur, the experience changes from simply listening to music to something completely different.

Much to the collective enjoyment of everyone who shelled out for Jazz Night and those who packed into a sweaty Dux dance floor, dDub didn't disappoint.

That intimacy, where everyone is within that moment, is the missing ingredient that makes a great show somehow more grand then the sum of all its parts.

This all brings me back to dDub. There was electricity in the air at those gigs. A feeling that we were all on the edge of something great. We were seeing a band that was about to be everybody elses favorite band. You couldn't help but move, and be moved. They ruled the stage and for those few hours we felt like we were all living out the same life. The crowd, the band, everyone linked by music that was flowing through us all.

CHEK OUT SOME 'AWAKE AT DAWN' ALBUM REVIEWS

"With eagerly anticipated new albums being released by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Black Seeds, it was always going to be difficult picking my album of the year. But in the depths of winter I think I've found it in the sublime summer sounds that make up the long-awaited debut album from dDub"

Craccum magazine August 2006 - * * * * * 5 Stars

"every track is uplifting and infinitely listenable.  I thoroughly recommend waking up early on Monday and getting your copy.  A slice of heaven made in NZ."

Christchurch Press Saturday Feb 06  - * * * *   4Stars  - Vicki Anderson  - 

"Polished and complete, the album brings together a range of influences, including reggae, dub, ska, roots, and even a touch of flamenco, all performed with assured musicianship. dDub shows on this album it unequivocally holds its own, with some standout tracks sure to stamp its name firmly on the NZ dub circuit."

Otago Daily Times 25 02 06  * * * * * 5 Stars  - Sophie Hazelhurst  -

"A  party piece that could help snap the nation out of its Prozac-reggae slumber. Derek Browne [dDub frontman] is a master of sing along phrasing. The production shines, Matt Shanks bass boasts more monster than King Kong."

                                      Herald Feb 06  - * * * * 4 stars - Alan Perrott -

"A long awaited recording for their substantial fan base, it loses none of the magical essence of a dDub live show.  Pumping out a raw roots Pacifica aural experience with bold brass and unapologetic passion."                                          

   Real Groove Magazine March 06  * * * * 4 Stars  -  Sharyn Croft

Check our pics from the recent NZ 'Comfort Tour'.

We start at National Park where we played a huge show at Schnapps Bar in the middle of a very cold snowed-in blizard. Then after 8 hours of driving the next day (most roads were closed fur to snow) we made to Napier, where a sell-out crowd packed int Malonga Tango Bar.

The loop then moves to pics from the Sth Island. Massive sell out shows in Queenstown, Christchurch and then Queenstown again. And awesome gigs in Invercargill and Dunedin. There was heaps of snow- hence lots of snow fights and sliperry antics goin on.

Hope you enjoy! Thanks the support. See you at the next show!